A competition to find the biggest unsung hero of the coronavirus pandemic, with a £2,000 prize towards a bucket-list moment of a lifetime for the winner, is under way.

The East Midlands’ unsung heroes of the pandemic – such as NHS workers, delivery drivers and supermarket workers – are at the top of Britain’s new pecking order and the most respected in society, a study shows.

Research into attitudes during the coronavirus crisis shows a change in the social pecking order of how people who do different jobs are now regarded.

Almost all those in key worker roles – such as food shop staff, bin men, delivery drivers, postmen and carers – have joined NHS staff and paramedics and are now held in higher esteem than before.

A study for toiletries giant Right Guard found that while the health and social work industry made the most difference during the pandemic (49%), followed by the wholesale and retail trade (38%), the Government were in the bottom half of the list (20%) along with the education sector (6%).

The survey of adults in the East Midlands found that two-thirds of people now have more appreciation for essential shop workers and delivery drivers, while more than half feel the same for posties and bin men.

But their opinions of journalists and politicians have gone down during the crisis, while attitudes to teachers have largely remained the same.

Oliver Ramirez, brand manager at Right Guard, said: “It’s interesting how when the chips are down, people place more value on the simple necessities they may not have paid much heed to before. We have always held NHS staff in high regard, but we now seem to have more appreciation for those who do what we might previously have thought of as more menial work.”

Anyone can nominate an unsung hero at www.rightguardcompetition.co.uk until Friday, 28th August when the competition will close. Following this, 20 shortlisted applicants across 10 nomination categories will be chosen and notified of the next stage.

Each lucky applicant will be required to send a video speaking to camera, explaining exactly why the person they are nominating should be crowned Britain’s Unsung Hero and awarded the life-changing prize. The winner will be notified on Wednesday, 16th September.

To nominate your unsung champion, head to www.rightguardcompetition.co.uk and select one (or more) of the following categories:

NHS Worker
Carer
Great Neighbour
Bin Man
Shop-worker
Sports/Fitness Legend
Charity Fundraiser
Community Hero
Spirit Raiser
Best of the Rest (please specify)

Ramirez continued: “Our survey shows how much the people of Britain appreciate all those who have sweated to keep the country running during some dark times… We want to celebrate the courage and hard work of these everyday superstars and reward them for being Britain’s unsung heroes by making their bucket-list dreams come true.”

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